Side Story 3: Visiting a Remote Island 16

Fran and Ouna decided to have a sparring match, but not even those two were reckless enough to start right there.

We were next to the underground cavern, and a fight between people of their level was sure to cause it to collapse. The village above it would suffer major damage as well.

Instead, we changed location to a stretch of wasteland some distance from the village. This should give them some room to cut loose a little.

…Actually, I’m starting to doubt if we’re still too close. This was Fran and Ouna, after all. Those two could probably cause earthquakes without even trying.

We might need to go explain things and apologize to the village later.

「Before we begin, take this, Master. You should be able to use it in case of emergencies, right? Return it to me if it ends up being unnecessary.」

『This is… a healing potion?』

Ouna handed over a bottle containing a blue liquid, and I could sense an overwhelming amount of healing-attribute mana coming from it. All of the high-grade potions we’ve purchased seemed ordinary in comparison.

「Indeed, a potion of the highest quality. It can heal anything aside from death. In fact, I used it on an adventurer once, and his entire leg regenerated within minutes. Though I must say, it looked excruciatingly painful.」

A potion that can regenerate limbs? At that point, we might as well call it an elixir.

『It must be expensive, right?』

「Not really, as I made it myself. Though the ingredients are far too rare for mass production.」

『Seriously? You can make potions too?』

So she’s a master blacksmith who forged several blades with terrifying powers, as well as an alchemist capable of brewing elixirs. Not to mention how she’s an absurdly strong swordswoman.

『Is there anything you can’t do…』

「I haven’t lived this long for nothing.」

『Are you sure about this? This thing is probably worth a fortune.』

「Money isn’t a problem. More importantly, having such a potent potion should allow you to fight seriously now.」

I had been thinking that my Restoration Magic was enough, but there’s no harm in having additional insurance.

『Got it. If it looks like someone’s in trouble, I’ll use it without hesitation. That includes you, Ouna.』

「You don’t need to worry about me. Remember what happened with that cultist? Nothing can kill me. Well, I’ll leave the decision to you if it means I can get a serious fight with Fran.」

Fran nodded happily at Ouna’s suggestion. She also wanted a fight with no holds barred, even if it meant someone getting pushed to the brink of death.

This is why you battle junkies are such a handful…

「In addition, it will be problematic if Fran and I go all out for an extended period of time. The collateral damage may alter the terrain.」

「Do we have to hold back?」

Fran asked the question with a hint of disappointment in her voice, but Ouna shook her head.

「No, come at me with everything you have. But in exchange, we must limit ourselves to one attack each. In other words, we settle everything in a single clash. Does that sound good?」

「Nn. That’s fine. But we won’t use Divine Sword Release.」

「Hahaha! Not even I could tell you use the power of a divine sword!」

「Okay, let’s do it.」

After that exchange, the two suddenly turned their backs to each other as if no further words were necessary. They took a few paces back, then turned to face their opponent simultaneously.

Fran raised me into a combat stance. Ouna, on the other hand, kept her sword Senbonwan sheathed at her waist. Was she going for an iai technique or something?

Ouna pulled the pink hairpin that had been holding her hair in place, causing her white hair to fall loose and flutter in the wind. Seeing this, Fran tilted her head in confusion.

「…? You’re fighting with that?」

「Senbonwan is a fine katana and I find it very comfortable to use. However, as much as I hate to admit it, it is no match for a divine sword.」

In other words, that hairpin can stand against a divine sword?

「The name of this katana is Sakura Kanzashi.」

「Sakura Kanzashi?」

「…Bloom, sleeping bud.」

Ouna performed a light swing with the hairpin in her hand, and by the time she was done, it had transformed into a sword. Unlike her other katanas, the blade was almost completely straight, only having a shallow curve.

What appeared to be nothing more than a cute hairpin had turned into a cursed blade radiating a terrifying and dense pressure. In addition, I could sense a faint amount of divine energy mixed into it. That must be why she chose this blade to challenge a divine sword.

「This katana was made specifically to fight against divine swords. The curse on it constantly absorbs the wielder’s mana… And because of that, its power has grown considerably.」

As she spoke, Ouna took her stance. She drew the sword backwards with her right hand and pointed it at us, using her left hand to support it. The posture resembled someone preparing a billiard cue.

It was obvious that she intended to go for a thrust.

Her silver katana had a hilt and guard the same color as cherry blossoms. Moonlight reflected off the blade to cast a pale white glow. A sword of exceptional beauty, and yet, looking at it filled me with dread.

Ouna showed us many of her cursed blades today, but this one was clearly the top. It possessed an overwhelming presence that caused the rest to pale in comparison.

「Master.」

『On it.』

I immediately channeled an enormous amount of mana into myself. Far more than should be necessary for a simple sparring match. At the same time, Fran activated Awakening, enveloping me in black lightning.

Neither of us felt like we were overdoing it.

For a moment, I even considered using Divine Sword Release. I honestly could not tell if this was enough to take her blade head-on.

However, the time had already come. It was too late to change anything now.

「Haaaaah! Black Lightning Heavenly Judgment!」

「Ouka Style Secret Art… Rakka-Ryuusui!」

Fran delivered an overhead slash at the same time as Ouna’s thrust.

Ouna angled her thrust a bit higher than normal. Apparently, she had aimed the blow at me rather than Fran. And she mentioned “Ouka Style”? Was that some personal school like the Dimitris Style?

Either way, I was in no state to ponder the subject further. A deafening metallic screech rang out, and my vision went dark.

This was the sound of my blade breaking.

Fran cried out in alarm.

「Master!」

『Don’t worry, I’m okay… But seriously?』

I had been snapped cleanly in half around the middle of my blade. My durability was simply not enough to withstand the impact of Ouna’s thrust concentrated on a single point. And this was with me using so much mana to reinforce myself.

But that’s not to say that we lost.

「Sigh… So it ends up like this even without Divine Sword Release…」

Ouna let out a sigh as she held up Sakura Kanzashi, or rather, the shattered fragments of metal that had once been her sword.

Her weapon had been completely destroyed, while I was only broken in half.　I guess we can call that a victory?

Still, I never imagined that I could be damaged so badly by something other than another divine sword.

I should take this as a lesson. It’s a big world out there. There are still many powerful people and powerful weapons out there that we’ve yet to meet.

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